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Metro Awards Contract for Up To 128 Replacement Escalators

WASHINGTON - JULY 21: Commuters make their way toward the orange line at Metro Center July 21, 2005 in the Metro system of Washington, DC. Transit security remained at a code orange alert after London Police evacuated three subway stations after explosions. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

Photo credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

LANHAM, Md. (CBSDC)– As many as 128 Metro escalators will be replaced or modernized by 2020 with a $151.1 million contract the transit organization awarded Thursday.

Although 20 escalators may not qualify for replacement due to a code that requires they be protected from precipitation, all the new escalators will meet American Public Transit Association standards for use in a “demanding, high volume transit environment,” Metro said.

The Archives and Smithsonian stations are examples of locations where canopies may not be able to be installed to protect the escalators from the weather.

A total of 88 escalators will be replaced by 2018, with an additional 40 units scheduled for 2019 and 2020. The entire transit system has 588 escalators.

Replacement projects have already been completed recently at Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle. The next scheduled project is at Pentagon Station, where three of the station’s six entrance escalators will be replaced.

In the most recent quarter for which data is available, July through September 2012, instances of escalators breaking down unexpectedly was down 14 percent.

Metro says the improvements are all part of General Manager Richard Sarles’ capital rebuilding effort.